Kiss DJ Tinea Taylor reveals secrets of exclusive celeb dating app Raya: ‘It’s not amazing!’-Kim Novak-Entertainment – Metro

Tinea Taylor was not that impressed with Raya (Picture: getty)

Celebrity dating site Raya might be the stuff of myth and legend, but according to Tinea Taylor the dating app is not all that. 

Tinea, 33, who is a presenter on Kiss FM, joined Miri on metro.co.uk’s Smut Drop podcast to discuss her dating life and experiences on Raya. 

While she is currently single, Tinea is open to finding The One, revealing: ‘I’m now in the state where I am single but I’m looking for my happy place, my peace and my medium. That’s where I’m at.’

She revealed that her past string of ‘rubbish boyfriends’ has taught her what she will and won’t accept in a relationship. 

Tinea added: ‘I haven’t been very successful at the minute! I had a relationship, come out of that last year – we won’t go into that – but I learnt a lot about myself and about what I will not accept and boundaries. 

‘Setting your boundaries from the start is really key because sometimes we can get lost in the moment, you know you meet a guy or girl and you think they’re so hot and we get on and it’s so much fun and it’s a vibe, and everyone goes on vibe. And then you forget to set your boundaries so you’re six months in and then you’re realising certain things about said person. 

The Kiss FM presenter is usually found interviewing stars like Aitch (Picture: Kate Green/Getty Images for Bauer Media)

‘I’m not talking little things like they don’t do the dishes or leave toilet seats up or snore – not that. Like really deep personality and character traits so I really think it’s key to set boundaries from the jump, regardless of the butterflies and the lovebombing certain people will give you.’

Tinea revealed that the only dating site she has tried so far is Raya, which is a notoriously exclusive app users need to either be referred for or face a lengthy application process to get accepted onto. 

As well as high-powered business people, the app is also reportedly home to several celebrities who benefit from the privacy the app offers. 

She explained: ‘I’ve never been on a dating site apart from Raya and Raya is supposed to be for if you’re in some form of industry like tech, music, and it’s kind of like a members thing and you have to be accepted, you can’t just sign up one drunken night with your mates and make an account and start scrolling, you have to wait. 

Tinea has learned about what she will and won’t accept in relationships (Picture: Joseph Okpako/WireImage)

‘I’ve got friends who have waited months and months to be accepted and then there’s the referrals, so if I’m on it you can refer a friend so when they do their accreditation they’re more likely to get accepted.’

Despite the allure of scrolling past famous faces, Tinea admits that the app isn’t as exciting as people believe it will be. 

‘I’ll tell you what, it’s not amazing,’ she admitted. ‘Everybody’s a CEO on there! Every man – ‘cos I’m into men – every man on there is “CEO of duh-duh-duh” or just “entrepreneur”. And I’m going through the pictures like there’s not much work here, it’s a lot of travel and fun, so there’s a lot of those on there. 

‘You get sports people, athletes and famous footballers that you would know, you get singers… I actually have a lot of my guy mates in the industry come up! I’m always so intrigued as to what their bio is or their 10 pictures they’ve chosen and we have a good laugh about it. 

The presenter isn’t that keen on Raya (Picture: David M. Benett/Getty Images)

‘But that’s the only dating site I’ve been on – never done a Tinder or a Hinge or anything like that.’

Addressing whether she would consider using dating apps specifically for Black people, Tinea added: ‘[Raya] only lets you scroll like 15 people at once and then they time you out because they want you to carry on building with the connections you’ve already made so they don’t want it to be very fickle, which I kind of get. 

‘But then its annoying because out of 15 guys I can scroll, one will be black and 14 will be white, and you can’t pick a preference so maybe I’m using the wrong app!’

The full interview with Tinea Taylor is on the latest episode of Metro.co.uk’s Smut Drop podcast, out now. 

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